Barking management

[OntarioSheltie]

uhmhum
that is what my posts looked like prior to Toffee's 'maturity' I was like, oh he knows the quiet command, he's very good, never goes and has the Sheltie spins/crazy bark LOL
I love how naive I used to be Hope Kaia stays that way for you, tho

Sadie was the same when she was young, very quiet. She still doesn't spin but she picked up that nasty barking habit from Milo, my parent's sheltie. Ginny on the other hand has something to say about everything and does that neurotic spin when she's excited.

The spray bottle worked better than I thought it would, her barking has been MUCH better. She's listening when I say quiet and no longer charging to the door. I've been giving her big praise for her change of behavior, which seems to be helping a lot too. I think she's finally realizing her limitations, that she's allowed to bark just not insanely.

Now I just have to find a way of transferring her behavior outside when the neighbors are out, since I can't spray her with water outside when its 20 deg F.

 

[corbinam]

Ontario, you use the spray bottle on Ginny? Lexi is now barking liking a fiend. At first it was just when it was time to eat, but now she barks ALL the time. We have a spray bottle that we use on the cat so I may give this a try. When she gets excited, she just can't stop! The "uh-unh" only works briefly, then she's right back to it.

 

[OntarioSheltie]

Ontario, you use the spray bottle on Ginny? Lexi is now barking liking a fiend. At first it was just when it was time to eat, but now she barks ALL the time. We have a spray bottle that we use on the cat so I may give this a try. When she gets excited, she just can't stop! The "uh-unh" only works briefly, then she's right back to it.

No, despite Ginny being the barker, Sadie is the problem one who I've started using the spray bottle on. Sadie has been barking insanely when people come to the door, Ginny just sort of talks, and its all the time.

Despite her talkative nature, Ginny isn't a problem...yet. I guess we'll cross that road when we get there.

In the mean time, when Ginny gets overly excited I give her a poke and say 'uh uh,' which usually does the trick. If she's being more persistant I'll grab her collar and put her in a sit till she calms down. Some times I have to put her in a sit a couple of times, as she is very stubborn. But she's at the point where she knows that if her behavior continues there will be consequences (she will have to stop playing and calm down), so she's pretty good.

This over excitement was much worse when she was younger, but she could always be calmed down by being layed on her back for a few minutes.